Mind Boggling
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
Chapter 80
Dear Kenyans,
Allow me this opportunity to add my voice to all those received from various corners of our nation and the world about what we need to do to restore peace to our nation.
I believe that our country is great; I believe that Kenyans are peace loving people; I believe that Kenyans are God fearing people; I believe that Kenyans are people who love people and I believe that God loves Kenyans.
Those of our Kenyan brothers and sisters who have been wreaking havoc in our country and causing untold suffering to hundreds and thousands of our brothers and sisters are only a few bad elements in our community. We can all agree that Kikuyus, Luos, Kalenjins and all other tribes in Kenya are generally good people. Only some and in fact very few are bad. There is therefore no reason whatsoever for us to capitalize on the bad instead of appreciating the good of our fellow Kenyans. Killing is wrong no matter the reason for it. Stealing is wrong, no matter the reason for it. Honourable Raila Odinga reminded us during his campaign that God has commanded us as follows: THOU SHALT NOT STEAL and THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
The 2007 general election was ridden with irregularities, all Kenyans whether supporters of PNU, ODM, ODM-K or any other party will agree with this position. The presidential race was between President Kibaki who won the election and Honourable Raila Odinga who lost the election according to the Electoral Commission of Kenya. Dubious as the win may have been, it has been declared and a president has been sworn in. Where do we go from here? These are my suggestions:
First, we must face the truth about the irregularities of the general election. The truth is this: that fairness, justice and truth were crucified during the general election. Save for the voters who faithfully turned up in large numbers to exercise their right, the crucifixion of fairness, justice and truth was done by all others who participated in the election regardless of their affiliations. In the circumstances, PNU claiming to have gained victory can be likened to those who crucified Jesus (who stood for fairness, justice and truth) claiming to have gained victory. No doubt the crucifiers of Jesus felt victorious after the crucifixion but in time, they came to realize that they had actually lost. ODM claiming to have been treated unfairly despite allegations of rigging on their side can be likened to Jacob who tricked his generous host and uncle Laban by quietly stealing from Laban and feigning surprise when Laban’s sons became hostile towards him forcing him to flee. There was no victory in the past general election. Kenyans are disillusioned about the democracy of this country and are looking to their leaders to restore unity among them. I humbly appeal to our government to urgently look into ways of assuring Kenyans that the 2012 election will be a free and fair one. To this end, ECK must undergo an emergency purge and new laws must be passed to regulate campaigns and seal the loop holes that enable rigging to be done.
Second, ODM and its supporters, of whom I was one during the general election, must, no matter how difficult that may be, accept defeat for the sake of restoring peace in our country. It is not that I do not support ODM any more. It is that the current political climate we are in does not permit taking of sides against my fellow Kenyans. It requires a spirited search for anything that can unite us. Our leader, Honourable Raila Odinga said that he is a Christian and at this time, we ought to put our political interests second to our spiritual interests and follow God's direction to SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. The righteous thing to do in my view is to accept defeat and by accepting defeat, ODM and its supporters will have shown an unmatched ability to forgive. Something we can all be proud of. Like Esau when he forgave his brother Jacob for stealing his blessings. Something Jacob could never reverse. We must remember that leadership is God given and if it was God’s will that Honourable Raila should be our president after the 2007 general election, it would have been so no matter the irregularities. It is not so. Why? God Knows. And we should thank God that the recent deaths and suffering have not occurred during an ODM presidency. There is a time for everything, God is fair and just and therefore, ODM’s time will come. When that time comes, which I believe will be soon if we do the righteous thing, it will be a time to celebrate a real victory. At this time, there can never be any real victory even in unseating President Kibaki. Any more fighting will only add salt to the gaping wounds that have been inflicted in our country. The Bible is riddled with numerous Kings who committed heinous crimes, yet God allowed them to rule but they all met their fate in the fullness of time. If we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, God has promised that all these things (including the presidency) shall be added unto us. Let us not underestimate the power of God and what He can do in a situation like the one we are in. We must remember that all of us live by the Grace of God and in death, there are no such titles as president or minister for this and minister for that. There are also no motorcades and all the privileges that come with power. At the door of Heaven, God will want to know whether we chose the righteous victory of forgiveness and reconciliation and peace or the human victory of the presidency.
Chapter 80
Dear Kenyans,
Allow me this opportunity to add my voice to all those received from various corners of our nation and the world about what we need to do to restore peace to our nation.
I believe that our country is great; I believe that Kenyans are peace loving people; I believe that Kenyans are God fearing people; I believe that Kenyans are people who love people and I believe that God loves Kenyans.
Those of our Kenyan brothers and sisters who have been wreaking havoc in our country and causing untold suffering to hundreds and thousands of our brothers and sisters are only a few bad elements in our community. We can all agree that Kikuyus, Luos, Kalenjins and all other tribes in Kenya are generally good people. Only some and in fact very few are bad. There is therefore no reason whatsoever for us to capitalize on the bad instead of appreciating the good of our fellow Kenyans. Killing is wrong no matter the reason for it. Stealing is wrong, no matter the reason for it. Honourable Raila Odinga reminded us during his campaign that God has commanded us as follows: THOU SHALT NOT STEAL and THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
The 2007 general election was ridden with irregularities, all Kenyans whether supporters of PNU, ODM, ODM-K or any other party will agree with this position. The presidential race was between President Kibaki who won the election and Honourable Raila Odinga who lost the election according to the Electoral Commission of Kenya. Dubious as the win may have been, it has been declared and a president has been sworn in. Where do we go from here? These are my suggestions:
First, we must face the truth about the irregularities of the general election. The truth is this: that fairness, justice and truth were crucified during the general election. Save for the voters who faithfully turned up in large numbers to exercise their right, the crucifixion of fairness, justice and truth was done by all others who participated in the election regardless of their affiliations. In the circumstances, PNU claiming to have gained victory can be likened to those who crucified Jesus (who stood for fairness, justice and truth) claiming to have gained victory. No doubt the crucifiers of Jesus felt victorious after the crucifixion but in time, they came to realize that they had actually lost. ODM claiming to have been treated unfairly despite allegations of rigging on their side can be likened to Jacob who tricked his generous host and uncle Laban by quietly stealing from Laban and feigning surprise when Laban’s sons became hostile towards him forcing him to flee. There was no victory in the past general election. Kenyans are disillusioned about the democracy of this country and are looking to their leaders to restore unity among them. I humbly appeal to our government to urgently look into ways of assuring Kenyans that the 2012 election will be a free and fair one. To this end, ECK must undergo an emergency purge and new laws must be passed to regulate campaigns and seal the loop holes that enable rigging to be done.
Second, ODM and its supporters, of whom I was one during the general election, must, no matter how difficult that may be, accept defeat for the sake of restoring peace in our country. It is not that I do not support ODM any more. It is that the current political climate we are in does not permit taking of sides against my fellow Kenyans. It requires a spirited search for anything that can unite us. Our leader, Honourable Raila Odinga said that he is a Christian and at this time, we ought to put our political interests second to our spiritual interests and follow God's direction to SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. The righteous thing to do in my view is to accept defeat and by accepting defeat, ODM and its supporters will have shown an unmatched ability to forgive. Something we can all be proud of. Like Esau when he forgave his brother Jacob for stealing his blessings. Something Jacob could never reverse. We must remember that leadership is God given and if it was God’s will that Honourable Raila should be our president after the 2007 general election, it would have been so no matter the irregularities. It is not so. Why? God Knows. And we should thank God that the recent deaths and suffering have not occurred during an ODM presidency. There is a time for everything, God is fair and just and therefore, ODM’s time will come. When that time comes, which I believe will be soon if we do the righteous thing, it will be a time to celebrate a real victory. At this time, there can never be any real victory even in unseating President Kibaki. Any more fighting will only add salt to the gaping wounds that have been inflicted in our country. The Bible is riddled with numerous Kings who committed heinous crimes, yet God allowed them to rule but they all met their fate in the fullness of time. If we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, God has promised that all these things (including the presidency) shall be added unto us. Let us not underestimate the power of God and what He can do in a situation like the one we are in. We must remember that all of us live by the Grace of God and in death, there are no such titles as president or minister for this and minister for that. There are also no motorcades and all the privileges that come with power. At the door of Heaven, God will want to know whether we chose the righteous victory of forgiveness and reconciliation and peace or the human victory of the presidency.
Third, each and every Kenyan must accept that tribalism and poverty are the primary causes of the anarchy and mayhem that our country has suffered. And in doing so, we must all immediately stop engaging in any discussions that encourage tribal divisions. Don’t allow yourself to say anything negative about your fellow Kenyans. You may condemn those who are perpetrating violence but it is wrong to blame an entire tribe for the wrong doings of only a few. Any change starts with an individual. Let us all shun tribalism. I humbly appeal to our government to urgently put in place measures to counter poverty and divert the attentions of the poor away from criminality. On the part of the rich, I urge you to reach out to our poor and if possible direct your investments to ventures that will create jobs not fat offshore bank accounts.
Fourth, we must all remember to fear God and in so doing, we must obey God’s commandments the most important of which is to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF. I urge our leaders to take the lead and I humbly appeal to President Kibaki and Honourable Raila to shake hands on national television or even better, jointly call a rally to condemn the violence and preach peace to their fellow Kenyans.
Fifth, let us all pray for our country and for our leaders and let God be the president of each of us.
Sixth, know that each and every one of us can be a leader in his/her own way and let us all take the lead in bringing peace to our country the best way we know how.
Yours in fairness, justice and truth,
Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
An extremely concerned Kenyan
2 comments:
NONE SHALL ENTER HEAVEN AS A COMMMANDMENT BREAKER!!!!
Rev 22: BLESSED ARE THE DOERS OF HIS COMMANDMENTS FOR THEY SHALL HAVE A RIGHT TO ENTER THRU THE GATES OF HEAVEN AND TO THE TREE OF LIFE. AMEN
Those who keep the commandments of GOD THOSE GOD IS ABLE TO KEEP-- AMEN
YES this is the biggest and most straight fwd sermon to reach the ears of all who read your article in the ea std.
Its a pretense to claim to be a christian yet willfully breaking and not keeping ANT KNOWN DUTY OR commandments of God. == SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW/COMMANDMENTS OF GOD
Hope you keep the commandment syourself and esp. th 4TH SABBATH COMMANDMENT.
This 4th commandment is foregotten and trully God's anger will come upon the BECAUSAE OF WORSHIPING A FALSE APOSTASTE 1ST DAY SABBATH.
Amen James. I try my best to keep God's commandments and am still trying. God bless you.
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